Threatening death

The appellant was convicted of aggravated assault and simple assault (included offence on choking charge) and acquitted of threatening death following an altercation with his wife.

The appellant appealed on two grounds: (1) that the trial judge erred in instructing the jury there was no evidence the pot of spaghetti sauce fell from the stove rather than being poured by the appellant, and (2) that the trial judge erred in allowing Officer Henderson to testify about the appearance of neck injuries as fingerprints.

The Court of Appeal dismissed both grounds of appeal and upheld the convictions.

The accused was charged with threatening death to two individuals, assaulting one with a weapon, and failing to comply with a recognizance.

The charges arose from an incident on March 19, 2017 at a residential property in Scarborough.

The Crown presented evidence from the alleged victims and supporting video and audio recordings.

The defence argued that the injuries were self-inflicted and that the allegations were fabricated.

The court found the Crown's evidence credible and corroborated by objective evidence, while finding the accused's testimony contradicted by video evidence and lacking credibility.

The accused was convicted on all counts.